The Knicks bounced back from their Game 1 loss and beat the Miami Heat, 111-105, in Game 2 to tie the series up 1-1.
Here are some key takeaways…
– Despite being a game-time decision with an ankle injury, Jalen Brunson drained a corner three-pointer for the first basket of the game — a big relief for Knicks fans after the point guard’s 0-for-7 effort from deep in Game 1. RJ Barrett then made back-to-back threes and Julius Randle attacked the rim and scored to go up 11-7. Miami then made three straight threes to take a 16-13 lead and force Tom Thibodeau to call timeout.
Barrett made another three and Randle scored to put the Knicks back up 20-19. Max Strus nailed his second three of the game for Miami, but Barrett came right back with an and-one layup to put the Knicks up one. Barrett then found a wide open Randle for his first triple of the night. Immanuel Quickley scored on a tear-drop floater with 23 seconds left to give the Knicks a 31-29 lead at the end of the first quarter. Barrett led the way with 16 points and Randle added 10 of his own. Without star Jimmy Butler (right ankle sprain), Caleb Martin and Strus paced the Heat with seven and six points, respectively.
– After shooting 5-for-10 from three in the first, New York missed five straight threes to start the second quarter and Bam Adebayo made a jumper to put the Heat up 35-31. Mitchell Robinson dunked it in after an offensive rebound and Josh Hart scored to tie it up, but Duncan Robinson buried a three to put the Heat back up. Brunson was fouled attacking the rim, but bounced back up and sank both free throws. Randle made a three and then appeared to hit another, but that was changed to a two-pointer, as the Knicks trailed 46-43 with less than three minutes left in the half.
– Out of a timeout, Martin scored inside and then Randle was fouled on a three-pointer, as he’d make all three to keep the Knicks’ deficit at two. Barrett nailed a three to tie the game up at 51 apiece, but Kevin Love came right back with a three to put the Heat up 54-51 at the half. The Knicks shot 2-for-13 from three in the second and were outscored 25-20. Barrett had just three points in the quarter, while Randle continued to score with another eight to his total (18). Miami finished the half 10-for-26 from beyond the arc and all nine players who played scored.
– Brunson scored on a layup and Randle made a three to open up the second half and tie the game up, 56-56. Strus then scored inside for Miami, and after Adebayo dunked it in, Strus scored again to go up 62-56 and force a Knicks timeout. Turnovers continued to hurt NY, as Randle threw the ball by Barrett for their eighth turnover of the night. The Heat then got two straight offensive rebounds and Strus scored inside. Brunson and Barrett hit threes on back-to-back possessions and Hart made a tough floater as the Knicks trailed 67-66.
Brunson made back-to-back threes to cut the Heat lead to one again, giving him 11 points in the quarter. Brunson then put the Knicks ahead on a floater before Adebayo threw down the alley-oop jam, but Randle came right back with a step-back jumper to give NY a 76-75 lead with two minutes left in the quarter. Gabe Vincent gave Miami a one-point lead to close out the third, as NY trailed 77-76.
– Barrett opened the fourth with a layup, but the Heat continued to move the ball and find an open man as Martin made a three to put them back up. Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed a rebound and made a beautiful outlet pass to Quentin Grimes for the and-one layup to give the Knicks a 81-80 lead. After playing just five minutes through three quarters, Quickley scored four straight points to tie the game at 85, but Vincent made his second straight triple and then scored inside to put Miami up five.
Brunson drained a corner three and Hartenstein was fouled by Adebayo, as he made the free throw to cut the Heat lead to 93-91. Miami then turned it over and Brunson made them pay for it, sinking a fadeaway mid-range shot to tie the game with 6:06 remaining.
– Hartenstein kept the possession alive with three offensive rebounds as the Knicks eventually found Hart in the corner for three to tie it up and Brunson hit a three to give NY a 99-96 lead. Randle hit Hart in the corner for another three to put NY up 104-100, and then after two more offensive rebounds, Randle was fouled and sank both foul shots to push the lead to six with about a minute left. New York closed out the game on a 24-12 run to tie the series up.
Brunson finished with 30 points on 10-for-19 shooting, including 6-for-10 from three. Randle had a near triple-double with 28 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Barrett scored 24 points thanks to a big first half and Hart finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. The Knicks out-rebounded the Heat 50-34, as Hartenstein had nine boards (four offensive) off the bench in 26 minutes. New York also shot 40 percent (16-for-40) from three and 70 percent (21-for-30) from the foul line.
Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks will take their talents to South Beach and face the Miami Heat in Game 3 on Saturday, May 6 at 3:30 p.m.
